A long-running campaign has been underway to free up the availability of a life-saving drug currently only issued by the police and paramedics.
Campaigners such as the charity ‘Release’ and drug educationalists ‘Transform Drug Policy Foundation’ (TDPF) are dismayed at the current government’s policy on the drug naloxone. They say their unwillingness to allow it to be freely available over the counter and other places is unacceptable.
The campaign comes in light of record numbers of drug-related deaths in the UK recently. Numbers since 2012 have doubled, with 5,448 in England and Wales in 2025. There have been an average of 45 opioid deaths a week. Most of which stem from synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl and Nitazines which, it is said, can be 1000s of times more potent than heroin.
Drug worker Steve Rolles, speaking for TDPF, said, “Given Naloxone’s known safety and the absence of abuse potential, it should have been made far more available years ago.”
Similarly, Niammh Eastwood from ‘Release’ said: “If the government is genuinely committed to saving lives, the law must be amended immediately.”
However, in a statement, the undersecretary of state for health and prevention, Sharon Hodgson MP, said, “Naloxone forms a key part of the government’s plan to reduce drug-related deaths.”
She assured charities that more services and professionals can now supply the drug but over-the-counter status would ‘require an application from the manufacturer plus assessment by the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency.’
Although campaigners welcome recent changes, such as its usage by the police and paramedics, they say in light of a current health emergency another government consultation is needed.
Actions called for are a provision for the public and those with experience of drug use plus information about changes: the same availability as defibrillators or a subsidised price or free over-the-counter to anyone that needs it.
Government actions include an amendment to ‘Human Medicines Regulations 2012′ in 2024, which allowed more services and professionals to supply the drug, and a publication on guidance for use of the drug, e.g., who can supply it, the products available, how to use it, and the training required.
However, these measures are not satisfactory to those drug workers who witness firsthand the devastation to families and loved ones. Dave Tebbet, who also works for Transform Drugs Policy, is angry about the government’s stance’ He said, “Satisfied? No. Naloxone is still only a prescription-only medicine. Pharmacies cannot sell it over the counter.”
He is also not happy about the newly granted powers to professionals. He said they are optional, not mandatory, and that ‘Community Pharmacy England’ isn’t expecting many pharmacies to supply it.
The government is also criticized by other concerned sections of the community. A spokesperson for the Salvation Army said: “The antidote should be as easy to access in public places as first aid kits and defibrillators.
The Department of Health and Social Care even admitted that 5,448 people lost their lives in England and Wales last year.
So, the question has been raised: Why is the government so reluctant to make radical changes to the law in the light of what has been called a catastrophe and the extreme lack of awareness of the drug Naloxone?
One hard-hitting response comes from Dave Tebbet, who states 1- a funding problem leading to pharmacies lacking incentive to supply, 2- medicine regulation leading to restriction, and 3- most importantly, the stigma problem. Mr. Tebbet said: “The people dying from opioid overdoses are not a sympathetic group in the eyes of some politicians and sections of the media.
He added, “The barrier is a system that has consistently treated the deaths of people who use drugs as less preventable than they are.”
He went on to say that this would be unacceptable in any other area of emergency medicine.
When asked who can help raise awareness of this little-known drug and its potential, he said, “Bereaved families, because they speak with an authority no policy document matches.” He also said coroners are writing prevention of future death reports, clinicians and pharmacists and MPs.
